Reviews
John Chard

John Chard

August 30, 2019
5.0
Welcome To Gunlock Star in the Dust is directed by Charles Haas and adapted to screenplay by Oscar Brodney from the novel "Law Man" written by Lee Leighton. It stars John Agar, Mamie Van Doren, Coleen Gray, Richard Boone, Leif Erickson, Harry Morgan, Randy Stuart and James Gleason. Music is by Frank Skinner (Joseph Gershenson supervising) and Technicolor cinematography is by John L. Russell Jr. We are in the town of Gunlock and Sheriff Bill Jorden (Agar) is set to hang hired killer Sam Hall (Boone) at sunset. Only he finds himself in the middle of the Ranchers and Farmers because one lot want to help Hall escape, and the other want to lynch him post haste. With the exception of his two trusty deputies, Sheriff Jorden - already having to carry around the weight of not being as good as his dad was at the job - can't trust anyone and has it all to do to ensure things are done legal like. It begins with a shot of a Sheriff's badge in the dust, and sure enough from that moment on the feeling of watching a poor High Noon/Rio Bravo knock off is hard to shake. Pic is erring towards psychological smarts with a half decent screenplay put forward by Brodney, and the cast can't be called for being poor since most are good enough when given enough screen time to work with. Though it has to be said that Agar is just a touch too wooden, overplaying his weary lawman act and it grows tiresome entering the last third of film. Pacing is deadly slow, and as a number of characters are introduced along the way, there's barely any action to cling onto as a point of dramatic worth. There's a decent fist fight on show, and a wickedly enjoyable girl scrap, which even involves any weapons that are handy! A brilliant piece of stunt work in the finale is to be highly applauded, but other than that we are sort of plodding through to the end. Biggest crime comes in under using Boone as the villain, he's on in it for short moments at a time, and he's hardly given a biting script to spout. The guitar based musical score is quite dreadful and irritatingly it's practically non stop when the story moves out of the jailhouse. I understand why the usually reliable Skinner was going for sombre tones in the play, but it's a dirge, and when the narrative perks up a notch, the guitar shifts into something that sounds like it belongs in animation Batman instead of a psychological Western. Bonus is the colour photography, lovely lenses from Russell and the TCM print is gorgeous. But again there's an irk, for the story rarely ventures out of the town so we are denied and sparkling Technicolor landscapes. It does have fans, and it really isn't a bad Western as such, it's just not a good one either. It goes through the motions and wastes a good cast and potential for character dynamism. 5/10 Footnote: Clint Eastwood is in the mix for a walk on part, keep a look out for him.
r96sk

r96sk

January 7, 2022
6.0
After an awfully slow opening 30 minutes, 'Star in the Dust' does eventually turn into a decent western flick from 1956. I really didn't enjoy that beginning chunk, which is severely meandering as it's filled with set-up and uninteresting characters. Thankfully things gradually improve, how much I'm not fully sure, to lead into an eventful, at least, finale. I don't have much to note with the cast. John Agar stands out as you'd expect, while future Disney mainstay Harry Morgan is also involved. Clint Eastwood has a minor showing, a few words but nothing more.

Recommendation Movies

6.6
Action
View
6.6
Batman: The Killing Joke
Batman: The Killing Joke2016
6.2
Comedy
View
6.2
Guardia, guardia scelta, brigadiere e maresciallo
Guardia, guardia scelta, brigadiere e maresciallo1956
7.5
Action
View
7.5
Avatar
Avatar2009
7.7
Science Fiction
View
7.7
Dune
Dune2021
6.7
Action
View
6.7
Venom: The Last Dance
Venom: The Last Dance2024
6.8
Action
View
6.8
Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel2019
8.7
Drama
View
8.7
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption1994
6.7
Action
View
6.7
Gladiator II
Gladiator II2024
8.5
Drama
View
8.5
12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men1957
7.6
Action
View
7.6
Deadpool
Deadpool2016
7.9
Action
View
7.9
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home2021
7.9
Drama
View
7.9
Titanic
Titanic1997
6.4
Science Fiction
View
6.4
Annihilation
Annihilation2018
7.9
Mystery
View
7.9
Gone Girl
Gone Girl2014
6.9
Thriller
View
6.9
Carry-On
Carry-On2024
7.4
Comedy
View
7.4
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters1984
8.4
Adventure
View
8.4
Interstellar
Interstellar2014
7.4
Action
View
7.4
Bullet Train
Bullet Train2022
7.7
War
View
7.7
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front2022
8.5
Drama
View
8.5
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight2008
© 2025 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt